picked up some chilean buckets

I just picked up Bella Chilean buckets of Carmenere, Cab Sauv, Syrah and Viognier. If I'm using the TA kit correctly, the Viognier is 23 brix and .5% TA. Is that acid a little low? I've read reccomended numbers as high as .75% - should I adjust before pitching yeast?

Thanks!

*edited for clarity

I would leave it alone and pitch the yeast.

thanks, I'll try it.

I think the Viognier is low.

I normally like to see a TA between .65 and .75 for most whites.

When adjusting acid, I like to go in stages, adding acid and tasting as I go. I would add 3/4 tsp of tartaric acid per gallon of must. This should get you to about .6125 (a lot closer to my preferred range).

I would adjust the acid prior to fermentation, then adjust again after fermentation to "fine tune" your wine. Do no adjust during fermentation itself.

I ended up adjusting it to .60 prior to pitching yeast, thinking that I'd rather undershoot than overshoot.
Out of curiousity, why not during fermentation?

Although JohnT is correct for white wines. .60 to .65% is preferred for reds. so your choice to go with .60% would be a good one. I feel using the lower end of the recommended percentage leaves one with the ability to add a little more post fermentation if the mouth feel is not adequate.

Bergmann said:

Although JohnT is correct for white wines. .60 to .65% is preferred for reds. so your choice to go with .60% would be a good one. I feel using the lower end of the recommended percentage leaves one with the ability to add a little more post fermentation if the mouth feel is not adequate.

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Bergman, You are correct .6 to .65 for reds. I thought that we were talking about Viognier which I believe is a white wine.


Ostensibly, Absolutely agree that adjusting the TA should be done in stages. The PH will change due to fermentation anyway. The best approach is to get it close, then adjust once fermentation completes and the wine clears.

I do not advise adjusting during fermentation for a couple of reasons. First, it is impossible to get a accurate reading at this stage. There is a lot of particulate matter suspended in the wine and also some CO2 (in the form of carbonic acid) which will throw your readings off.

I also think that, prior to fully blending your acid into the wine, some of your active yeast be killed. This might be negligible, but I still worry.

I also think that a sudden change in the yeast's environment is not a good thing. I like to keep the yeast as stress free as possible.

Not that I am any sort of expert but I agree with everything JohnT said.
Although many of the workhorse yeasts are rather resilient drastic changes in the fermentation process, with the possible exception of the addition of nutrients can stress the yeast and make it do odd things. Some yeast are even down right finicky. For that reason I treat every ferment like a new born child. I start them off in a clean sterile environment and carefully provide for their individual needs. once the ferment starts all they get is Oxygen and nutrients in precise amounts at precise times. It just makes for a better wine, with lower incidence of trouble, or failure.

Thanks for all the explanations! The reds are all at .60% TA, I plan on tweaking them upward as needed after primary is finished.

ostensibly said:

Thanks for all the explanations! The reds are all at .60% TA, I plan on tweaking them upward as needed after primary is finished.

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At .60, any frther tweaking you do should be dictated by your tongue..